Defending Irish Open champion Paul Casey admitted Wednesday he was facing a fixtures headache to comply with a new European Tour rule he himself voted for last year.
Casey, 36, was a member of the Tournament Players Committee that passed a ruling whereby European Tour members must compete in their ‘home’ event as one of the mandatory 13 needed to retain full Tour membership.
England-born Casey’s ‘home’ event is the PGA Championship at Wentworth but he missed the tournament while in the United States waiting for his green card to be processed.
It means under the Tour rule he now must play an additional two European Tour events.
He will tee-up this week in Cork having played in just four European Tour events this year and needing to contest a further nine or forfeit Tour membership.
“I’m on the Committee when we made that decision but I don’t remember how I graded that one,” he said.
“I am not a fan of forcing guys to do things like play extra events. I’m always a fan that guys should want to do something, and that creates the best environment.”
There is one further event this year on English soil –the Volvo World Match-Play Championship at the London Club starting October 16 — but given that is a limited field event Casey at this stage would struggle to qualify.
Casey said he could be prepared to press home the point of needing to play two extra events with Tour CEO George O’Grady.
“It’s George’s discretion but if he pushes the issue I may have to play the 15,” said Casey.
“The good thing I am playing this week so that is five and also playing next week, and then I’m playing the Scottish Open and The Open so there’s eight.
“But we’ll see and I will figure it out as I have always played my 13 and I will play 15 if I have to.”
And while Casey has not played a regular Tour event since February’s Dubai Desert Classic he has contested 11 on the PGA Tour, and has all but secured full Tour membership for 2015.
“And I still plan playing the Bridgestone, the PGA Championship so there’s two more that will count in Europe,” he continued.
But as Casey’s fiancee Pollyanna Woodward is expecting the couple’s first child early in September that could disrupt his playing schedule.
Casey, among 31 players who contested the 2002 Irish Open when last staged at Fota Island, plays the opening two rounds of the 2-million-euro event alongside Irish pair Graeme McDowell and former winner Shane Lowry.